Season Updates

[waterhead]

https://twitter.com/tallwonder/status/1362164955550605313

Eason's mom not exactly throwing a party on twitter. Still no reason to worry about Eason leaving?

The moment a coach starts catering to players or moms is where the program dies. Just imagine Tball with your kids and coaches and parents trying to loud mouth their way in. Either be the coach of the team or shut up IMO.

 

[TheLivingLegend]

The moment a coach starts catering to players or moms is where the program dies. Just imagine Tball with your kids and coaches and parents trying to loud mouth their way in. Either be the coach of the team or shut up IMO.

I'd agree. Fine balance

 

[justinhub2003]

I just think Mick was better at identifying players who will do nothing but work their ass off and then also catering a bit to guys like Jarron, who are game time athletes. They may not push extra hard in practice, but when the lights come on, they are game changers. Allen Iverson being another example lol “practice”

I think Mick was great at identifying what kind of coaching worked for certain kinds of players.

Some have noted that they think John plays favoritism, but I think it’s the opposite. I think John doesn’t try and change his coaching approach to fit his players individual personalities. He maybe too vanilla. Which works for underrated guys, because they are being treated just same as the highly touted ones.

Time will tell if this is true. It will also tell if Johns philosophy works or not. I think treating all players the same is a noble idea but it fails in practice. The fact is, some players need tough love, some need encouragement, some need empathy and compassion .... especially in these trying times. I think micks rough and tough players, just like Huggins players, allowed him to be tough on them because he built the relationship deeper at the beginning. I mean it must take a lot of respect for a guy who is 5’3 to berate on you national tv while your 6’8 and ripped, and for the player to accept it. I think it goes in the relationship building that happens off the court, in the recruiting process and so on,

 

[cincyguy13]

https://twitter.com/tallwonder/status/1362164955550605313

Eason's mom not exactly throwing a party on twitter. Still no reason to worry about Eason leaving?

She’s not really saying anything bad or anything that we aren’t. She wants what’s best for her kid. I mean if he wanted to be on a bad team, he could of stayed at Washington. She also said she wants everyone to stick it out. She basically said she wants answers like all of us

 

[skyblade]

I just think Mick was better at identifying players who will do nothing but work their ass off and then also catering a bit to guys like Jarron, who are game time athletes. They may not push extra hard in practice, but when the lights come on, they are game changers. Allen Iverson being another example lol “practice”

I think Mick was great at identifying what kind of coaching worked for certain kinds of players.

Some have noted that they think John plays favoritism, but I think it’s the opposite. I think John doesn’t try and change his coaching approach to fit his players individual personalities. He maybe too vanilla. Which works for underrated guys, because they are being treated just same as the highly touted ones.

Time will tell if this is true. It will also tell if Johns philosophy works or not. I think treating all players the same is a noble idea but it fails in practice. The fact is, some players need tough love, some need encouragement, some need empathy and compassion .... especially in these trying times. I think micks rough and tough players, just like Huggins players, allowed him to be tough on them because he built the relationship deeper at the beginning. I mean it must take a lot of respect for a guy who is 5’3 to berate on you national tv while your 6’8 and ripped, and for the player to accept it. I think it goes in the relationship building that happens off the court, in the recruiting process and so on,

I still say there's a degree of favoritism towards certain players (specifically Vogt and Rap when he was here). After the Wichita State loss, Brannen said (either in post game or radio show, I forget which), that we can't pressure with Vogt in the game, he also said that our best offense is transition offense.

What did we do? We started playing half-court offense/defense (though Covid played a role in that as well). The half-court style benefits Vogt, but it hurts Harvey, Eason, Diarra and Keith among others.

But overall I think you are correct. Brannen plays guys based on how they practice and not how they play in games. Where Cronin would put a more talented guy in and then pull him when he makes a mistake, then put him back in and go through that rotation all game (Broome and Kyle Washington being the two most recent examples). Brannen seems more inclined to just not play guys who don't practice well, no matter how much raw talent they have. Brannen doesn't care if someone is a more talented player, he cares that they bring it in practice every day.

In theory that is a good idea. But in reality it leads to starting a guy like Saunders - who is pretty useless at this point in his career - and guys like Harvey leaving because of lack of playing time. It works if Brannen can get talented guys who will buy in, but so far that hasn't happened much. So far it mostly seems to chase away the talented players.

 

[cincrulz11]

It's rough when your upperclassmen act out against the coaches. We saw it last year with Cumberland. We see it this year with Keith.


I think a philosophy of treat everybody the same can be good when its all your guys. But it is clearly not working with the guys that were here before him.


Watch team huddles or anything where Keith is involved. Very clear there is no togetherness. And if Keith is close to anyone on the team judging by who they stand next to in huddles and stuff, it was Harvey.

 

[skyblade]

It's rough when your upperclassmen act out against the coaches. We saw it last year with Cumberland. We see it this year with Keith.


I think a philosophy of treat everybody the same can be good when its all your guys. But it is clearly not working with the guys that were here before him.


Watch team huddles or anything where Keith is involved. Very clear there is no togetherness. And if Keith is close to anyone on the team judging by who they stand next to in huddles and stuff, it was Harvey.

Yeah, if Keith wasn't already a senior I don't think he'd be back next year. Maybe he takes advantage of the extra year and free transfer and tries to go to a big school next year. He's probably just going to go pro though and try and make it in the G-league.

 

[TheLivingLegend]

Yeah, if Keith wasn't already a senior I don't think he'd be back next year. Maybe he takes advantage of the extra year and free transfer and tries to go to a big school next year. He's probably just going to go pro though and try and make it in the G-league.

I think it's very clear Keith isn't a leader... I think those reigns are in the hands of dejulius and eventually davenport.

 

[waterhead]

All I can say is year 4 better be a good one for CJB because I don't see us getting off to a good start next year. We could see needing to replace anywhere from 4-6 players if anyone else decides to leave. Gabe...Tari...Dou etc. Either way there are going to be quite a few players learning a new system again. And we can't keep doing this unless Brannen can find the tourney this way as an at large. Which obviously isn't going to happen this year.

But year 4 he will have some of his own SR's and enough time to build a roster and maintain some continuity. I was fine with slow starts for year 1 and 2. If year 3 is a complete disaster then I would be willing to drop my grace period to 3 years from 4. I still think CJB is a good coach that has had his fair share of misfortune. Some of it was self inflicted (bringing in Rap as an example). Now Harvey is a recruit of his that is leaving and John will be at least partly to blame for that.

Either way I don't see the administration getting rid of him in 3 years anyway. Maybe 4 if there is nothing to show for it. I am still behind the coach and hope he can get this turned around and stop the bleeding.

 

[cincrulz11]

Yeah, if Keith wasn't already a senior I don't think he'd be back next year. Maybe he takes advantage of the extra year and free transfer and tries to go to a big school next year. He's probably just going to go pro though and try and make it in the G-league.

The thing is Brannen is trying to make Keith better. The things he gets on Keith about are the things that will hurt him at the next level: shot selection, selfishness, mental errors.


Keith isn't going to have more athleticism than guys in the G-league, so he needs to be a better overall basketball player. He just doesn't seem to want to change.


I think its pretty clear one way Mick kept people around is he promised them things later in their career. They stayed for it. Brannen feels no obligation to give that to them and the results aren't pretty.

 

[waterhead]

Gabe is hopefully licking his chops right now. Get in the gym and work on that D. We are going to need a play maker other than DD next year. We always need shooters. With Harvey and Williams gone...Gabe could be next in line to get the ball at end of clocks (after DD). Eason probably just got the bump he wants to see in becoming a go to guy as well. We all know he wants to showcase his talents more. If he can just take care of the ball better he should see the leash loosen up a bit for play making and outside shooting.

 

[cincrulz11]

I think it's very clear Keith isn't a leader... I think those reigns are in the hands of dejulius and eventually davenport.

And there's a rub. I forget what game it was before the break but Keith and Dejulius got into in the huddle near the end of the game and Keith looked like he was about ready to smack DeJulius. Keith feels it should be his team. DeJulius is a natural leader. Not good.


If there is no cohesiveness next year then its pretty clear Brannen is at fault. Cumberland and Keith have never been unity guys and I don't really think it mattered who the coach was.

 

[waterhead]

The thing is Brannen is trying to make Keith better. The things he gets on Keith about are the things that will hurt him at the next level: shot selection, selfishness, mental errors.


Keith isn't going to have more athleticism than guys in the G-league, so he needs to be a better overall basketball player. He just doesn't seem to want to change.


I think its pretty clear one way Mick kept people around is he promised them things later in their career. They stayed for it. Brannen feels no obligation to give that to them and the results aren't pretty.

Yah. One would hope and generally expect the roster turnover would come from the end of the bench. I would be fine with that type of turnover. You can find role players easily. But what can't happen is roster turnover from your main rotation guys. That's gonna sting...and that will have to stop.

 

[skyblade]

On a somewhat related note, the NCAA extended the dead period for recruiting to May 31. This means that coaches can not meet in person with recruits, or officially host them on campus in any fashion.

So either Brannen is going to have to recruit without meeting in person first, or he will have to wait until June/July and comb through the leftovers.

 

[waterhead]

On a somewhat related note, the NCAA extended the dead period for recruiting to May 31. This means that coaches can not meet in person with recruits, or officially host them on campus in any fashion.

So either Brannen is going to have to recruit without meeting in person first, or he will have to wait until June/July and comb through the leftovers.

I think this will probably mean he will lean on transfers more. Which was probably already going to be the case

 

[cincrulz11]

Yah. One would hope and generally expect the roster turnover would come from the end of the bench. I would be fine with that type of turnover. You can find role players easily. But what can't happen is roster turnover from your main rotation guys. That's gonna sting...and that will have to stop.

I think his X and Os are more than good enough to succeed here. But if he can't get guys, and keep guys, it doesn't matter.


Can't have 0 freshmen coming in and then once again rely on 3-5 new bodies. It's just not a realistic way of doing things. That has been by far my biggest disappointment with him. If we had a class coming next year like the one we just got, I think we'd all feel a lot better.

 

[cincyguy13]

The thing is Brannen is trying to make Keith better. The things he gets on Keith about are the things that will hurt him at the next level: shot selection, selfishness, mental errors.


Keith isn't going to have more athleticism than guys in the G-league, so he needs to be a better overall basketball player. He just doesn't seem to want to change.


I think its pretty clear one way Mick kept people around is he promised them things later in their career. They stayed for it. Brannen feels no obligation to give that to them and the results aren't pretty.

Yeah, the notion that brannen is somehow holding Keith back is quite frankly dumb. If Keith still can’t dribble, He has no one to blame but his self. If he keeps fouling 80 feet from the basket that’s his fault. Being out of control. I’m positive brannen is telling him not to do these things, and wants him to become a more complete player. Which he did the last game.

 

[skyblade]

I don't think Brannen is a bad coach, but I no longer think he is going to succeed here.

His whole system seems to be geared towards succeeding as a mid-major. The 94-feet both ways - which requires having 10 players who can play, the treat everyone the same and making players prove themselves in practice before they play.

It's not necessarily a bad system, but it is one that is geared more towards a mid-major. Not many high-major teams go 10 deep or press all game, because they have a few star players who are better than the rest and need to be in. Pretty much all high-major coaches understand that you need to slowly transition 4/5 star guys into being treated the same as everyone else, because most of the are used to special treatment and have come to expect it.

Brannen probably jumped too quickly to the high-major level. He would have been better off coaching at a mid-major for a while. He also seems to be slow to change and stubborn, which means the 3/4 years he's going to get probably isn't going to be long enough for him. And fans (including myself) aren't willing to wait around in the hopes he eventually figures it out. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[cincyguy13]

I think his X and Os are more than good enough to succeed here. But if he can't get guys, and keep guys, it doesn't matter.


Can't have 0 freshmen coming in and then once again rely on 3-5 new bodies. It's just not a realistic way of doing things. That has been by far my biggest disappointment with him. If we had a class coming next year like the one we just got, I think we'd all feel a lot better.

Agree, you can be the best coach in the world but if you can’t get and keep guys, it doesn’t matter. I think brannen can still be a good coach but a major part of his job is getting guys, which he has done, and keeping them, which seems to be a problem

 

[cincyguy13]

I don't think Brannen is a bad coach, but I no longer think he is going to succeed here.

His whole system seems to be geared towards succeeding as a mid-major. The 94-feet both ways - which requires having 10 players who can play, the treat everyone the same and making players prove themselves in practice before they play.

It's not necessarily a bad system, but it is one that is geared more towards a mid-major. Not many high-major teams go 10 deep or press all game, because they have a few star players who are better than the rest and need to be in. Pretty much all high-major coaches understand that you need to slowly transition 4/5 star guys into being treated the same as everyone else, because most of the are used to special treatment and have come to expect it.

Brannen probably jumped too quickly to the high-major level. He would have been better off coaching at a mid-major for a while. He also seems to be slow to change and stubborn, which means the 3/4 years he's going to get probably isn't going to be long enough for him. And fans (including myself) aren't willing to wait around in the hopes he eventually figures it out. Hope I'm wrong.

The mid-major argument always seemed lazy to me. All these guys have coach at every level. They know what works and what doesn’t. He coached at Alabama, he coached with billy Donovan. I’m seem he knows what works.